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Division Road School and the Shamrocks
Jeff Turgoose emailed us his memories of the Hull Fair of his childhood. He still goes there but for a different reason now:
I am 61 years of age and was born within a stones throw of the
present fairground. My school was in Division Road and we were told that
we could only go to the fair with our parents but never the less we went
anyway as often as we could. Money we had not, but that didn't stop us. As
soon as the rides started to arrive we went just to watch these monsters
of steam and noise being put into their places. Big tops with animals from
places we had only seen on maps on the classroom wall, wild west shows
with cowboys and indians just like the comics that the rich kids could
afford to read and then swop with us for marbles. My favorite was the
steam shamrocks. Watching the screaming riders on a night, (its always
best when it gets dark and the lights and smells blend together in such a
unique way that is the trade mark of Hull Fair). Then the next day
sneaking out straight from school to look for pennies that had been lost
by the people who dared to ride on the back netting swinging with their
legs in the air showing off to their girlfriends. Where in the world can
you walk and watch in wonder, even now all these years later I still think
it's the best free show in the world just watching the peoples faces as
they get nearer and nearer to the old transhed corner of the park in
Walton Street and then the sudden blast of noise and wonderland of lights
and movement as you see the whole landscape laid out like an aladdin's
cave of magical jewels . Everything that tests the imagination, how do
they gets these things to operate without somebody somewhere being
catapulted in near space never to be seen again. Then as now I still find
it difficult to fathom how they can think of different ways to get
machinery to contort its self. Bigs wheels stay the same but they get
better, brighter and higher to give the fantastic aerial views from the
top if you dare open your eyes long enough to look. I still take my
family and friends or anybody else that hears my infectious stories and
wants to see exactly what it is that I hold so dear and they still think
I am just like the kid who enjoyed sneaking off as a schoolboy in the
early fifties, but now I'm a responsible adult who actually gets paid to
be part of the team that every year brings this fantastic spectacle to the
City were I was born and bred. And if I have anything to do with it my
children, or whoever gets to look after me when the old legs have gotten
tired, will still be bringing me to see the sights, enjoy the smells, have
my pattie and chips for as long as those magnificent showmen keep bringing
Europe's largest and best fair to the place that holds so many memories
for me and I have no doubt for so many others.
If you have a memory you'd like to share email it to: hullfair@sheffield.ac.uk